Ultrabright single-photon sources

Abstract

The development of a quantum communication network will require sources that efficiently emit single photons. Now, using a new lithography technique that garnered a silver CNRS medal in 2014, it has recently proved possible to fabricate these sources using quantum dots (QDs), that is, artificial solid-state atoms. Performed at cryogenic temperatures, this technique makes it possible to position a single QD in the middle of an optical microcavity with nanometric precision.